Private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners is working with one of its investors, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Microsoft to put together a bid for Yahoo!, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. Microsoft would put up several billion dollars of funding, with additional financing arranged by banks. Silver Lake and the CPP Investment Board would provide the rest of the amount, which would be less than what Microsoft contributes, the report said. At least nine private-equity firms, including Silver Lake, have been studying a potential buyout of Yahoo, which has been weighing its strategic options in recent weeks. In any bid, several investment firms are expected to band together. Microsoft's interest is mainly driven by its desire to maintain influence over Yahoo! and their lucrative search agreement. Under the proposal being discussed, the buyers would spin off Yahoo's Asian assets after a takeover. According to the paper, some private-equity firms expect a deal for Yahoo can be done at around USD 16-18 per share, just over its last closing price of USD 15.94. This would mean a total price of around USD 20 billion.
